Part 6

Cassie finally came to the conclusion that there was only one way to tell her parents, make it swift and as painless as possible for her, just come right out with it and be done with it. She wanted to tell both of her parents at once, but catching the two of them in the same room was often a difficult task. So, Cassie told both of her parents to come to her apartment because she had something to tell them. She also made sure that it was when Jacqui was home so that she could be a mediator in case things got ugly.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Cassie?" Johnny asked.

"Well, you guys are my parents, so I figure you should know what I'm about to tell you." Cassie began.

"Alright." Sonya said, anxiously awaiting what her daughter would say next. She honestly had no idea where the conversation was headed.

"Everything's alright, isn't it, Cassie?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine, dad." Cassie answered.

"Johnny, let her finish." Sonya said, wishing that, for once in his life, her ex husband would just shut his mouth.

"Well, the thing is, I'm kind of seeing someone." Cassie said.

"You mean seeing someone as in, in a romantic way, seeing someone?" Johnny said, looking at his daughter with a look of surprise.

"You have a boyfriend?" Sonya asked.

"Yeah." Cassie answered. That was the easy part. It would be when they found out who it was that the problems would arise. The expression on Sonya's face softened somewhat, more akin to that of a mother rather than that of a military General.

"We're happy for you, Cassie." she said.

"Thanks, mom." Cassie said.

"Hey, I never said I was happy about this." Johnny protested. Cassie couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her father's reaction.

"Dad, I'm an adult now, you know." she said.

"Johnny, you had to know this day would come." Sonya said. Johnny sighed.

"Yeah, I know." he said, "Well, if you're happy, then I guess I'm happy, too. So who is the lucky guy so I can pay him a visit?"

"Dad." Cassie said.

"Johnny." Sonya said.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding." Johnny said, putting his hands up defensively.

"What does your boyfriend do? Is he military? Is it someone you met on the base?" Sonya asked.

"Not exactly..." Cassie said.

"Oh. Then, what does he do for a living? Cassie, please tell me he has a job." Sonya said.

"Yeah. Well, he does a lot of different things. Right now, he's working as a bodyguard for somebody." Cassie said, answering the question without divulging right away the little detail that he was a gun for hire.

"That sounds noble." Sonya said. Johnny furrowed his brow. He couldn't help but think that something in his daughter's words didn't add up, or at the very least made him uneasy.

"So, where exactly did you meet this guy?" Johnny asked. Well, there was no way around this question. She brought her parents here to tell them, and that's what she needed to do.

"Ummm... Outworld." she said.

"What?" Johnny and Sonya both said in unison.

"Cassie, is he an Outworlder?" Sonya asked.

"Please tell me he's not a Takartan." Johnny said.

"Eww, no he's not a Takartan. That's just creepy. And, yes, he's an Outworlder, but, he's human. He's just lived in Outworld for a long time now." Cassie said.

"A human living in Outworld?" Sonya asked. This seemed strange. There were very few humans in Outworld.

"Do we know this guy, Cassie?" Johnny asked.

"You... might have run across him a few times." Cassie said.

"Cassie, what's his name?" Sonya said sternly. She and Johnny were both concerned about how few details that Cassie was revealing. It made them uneasy.

"It's Erron Black, the mercenary, the Outworld Cowboy." Cassie finally just blurted it out. Her parents' jaws dropped and their eyes widened with shock.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Johnny said. 'Oh, shit. I'm in for it now.' Cassie thought.

"Erron Black? The gunslinger?" Sonya said, "The mercenary who's currently working as a bodyguard for Kotal Kahn?"

"Yeah." Cassie said quietly.

"Cassie, he's one of the ones who kidnapped you! Why in the hell could you care anything for him?!" Sonya said.

"He was just doing his job. The emperor was the one who ordered it." Cassie said.

"It doesn't matter. He's not a good person, Cassie! He kills people for money!" Sonya said.

"Jesus, Cassie! What are you trying to do, kill your old man? What the hell are you thinking?!" Johnny said.

"Dad..." Cassie said.

"Don't you 'Dad' me, Cassie! You know what, Sonya, this is your fault! Your the one that sent her to Outworld on that mission!" Johnny said.

"Well, excuse me. I had no idea she would get kidnapped much less end up liking one of her kidnappers!" Sonya said.

"See, this is why I was worried when she started dating!" Johnny said. Sonya finally took a deep breath, then spoke again, more calmly this time.

"Look, Cassie, you're an adult now. And you're just as stubborn as I am, so I know nothing me or your father says is going to change your mind. So, just, be careful around him. Alright?" she said.

"Mom..." Cassie said, surprised at what her mother had just said.

"That's right... Wait, what?! Sonya, what are you saying?! Have you completely lost it?!" Johnny said.

"Johnny, nothing we do or say is going to change her mind. She's an adult now. Fighting her on this will just make things worse." Sonya said, "We don't have to like him, we just have to tolerate him." Johnny sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping.

"You're right. Cassie is just like us. If somebody tried to tell us what to do, we'd do the opposite just to stick it to them." Johnny said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder, "Alright, Cassie. If you're happy, that's enough for me. But, if he hurts you, I hurt him. We clear?" Cassie smiled.

"Crystal. Thanks, guys. This means a lot." Cassie said. She felt a huge sense of relief now that that was over with, as if a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.